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Atlanta United’s players couldn’t hide their frustration. Leandro González Pírez angrily punted the match ball into the air. Reigning MLS MVP Josef Martínez stormed off the field, brushing aside a club staffer on his way to the locker room. Sections of the crowd voiced their disapproval with the outcome, the new manager and the performance in a disappointing 1-1 draw to expansion side FC Cincinnati. The irritation was palpable.

Consistent defensive errors and a toothless attack have replaced the high tempo, risk-taking vertical brand of soccer that made Atlanta United an exciting product under Tata Martino. That identity, which the club’s front office has publicly committed to on numerous occasions, appears to have left town with the Argentine manager in December. Five games into the 2019 season, the defending MLS champions are an indistinguishable version of their former selves.

“Last year we weren’t used to losing,” said Brad Guzan on Sunday. “It wasn’t in our DNA. We found ways to win games, score goals. We found a way. This year it hasn’t been the case so far.”

A bad performance in front of a sellout crowd in the home opener was highlighted by a lack of attacking ideas, predictable tactics, and dull soccer. In general, there was a noticeable lack of energy at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The unveiling of the Supporters’ section tifo, a moment the crowd always looks forward to, sputtered and underwhelmed. Something seemed off.

This doesn’t feel like a championship hangover or a team that’s dealing with a shortened preseason. Instead, the plot of Atlanta United’s 2019 story so far concerns a takeover of the team’s attacking ethos, replaced by a long-term strategy of methodical possession within a defensive framework. This approach was intentional.

“You cannot train everything together,” said manager Frank de Boer last week when I asked him if there has been a concerted effort to work on the attack in training. “But you have to start somewhere. We…still believe that on the defensive side we could improve and on the offensive side they did already a fantastic job of course. So you have to make choices in the beginning. I’m convinced that we’re going to show that already against Cincinnati.”

A quick goal from Josef Martínez was followed by a slow-moving attack that was managed well by Cincinnati’s compact formation. The MLS newcomers stifled Atlanta’s creative players and were duly rewarded in the 86th minute when Roland Lamah slotted the equalizer past Guzan uncontested. Martino’s teams struggled with late-game collapses, too. But given the circumstances of Atlanta United’s early struggles under De Boer, this result really stung.

For the first time since their inaugural season in 2017, Atlanta United is dealing with the most dreaded and overused word in sports: adversity. In the context of the club’s heightened expectations, it’s new territory for the organization. A players-only intervention is common when teams are searching for answers during difficult stretches, and if it were up to Guzan, it would happen sooner than later.

“We need to regroup,” said the veteran goalkeeper. “Go back to the drawing board and figure it out. We can’t let this be a defining moment. This has to be a chance for us to have real conversations amongst ourselves as professionals, as athletes, as competitors. We need to find a way to win games—plain and simple. We’ve got to find a way to score goals. We’ve got to find a way to defend better. We’ve got to find a way to win.”

De Boer acknowledged after the game that the player’s mental state has been a concern. Because of that, the Dutch manager went for the win on Sunday and chose a strong lineup even though the second-leg CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Monterrey was coming up 72 hours later.

“It is the first home game, so you want to be as strong as possible,” De Boer said. “There’s normally almost 73,000 people in this stadium. We had a loss in the first game against D.C. United, so you want a good result. Normally, when you think, ‘Ok, we have won the first game,’ then you maybe do some rotation. But for me, the most important thing was a win to get a boost into the next game, and sometimes you have to risk those things.”

The decision backfired. There were tired legs and the same ponderous play that has plagued Atlanta United in four of their five games thus far. They finished the match with four shots on target.

In December, before Atlanta announced De Boer, Eales gave the MLS ExtraTime Radio podcast some insight regarding the future manager’s qualifications. “We want to play that attractive, goal-scoring style, so it would be crazy if we would’ve brought somebody in that’s a defensive specialist.”

The club’s supporters are aware of what the front office promised since day one. But so far in 2019, the product on the field isn’t aligned with the club’s initial strategy.

Donor

Feels like we could have easily had 4 goals tonight. Fun game and we looked much better. Our field vision is shit. We either wait wait too long to make a pass or just don’t see it (looking at you Barco)